Scotty McCreery Covers Garth Brooks’ ‘The Dance’ at the Opry

The Grand Ole Opry has been digging through its vaults and posting performances on its YouTube page. One of the highlights is Scotty McCreery‘s rousing rendition of Garth Brooks’ No. 1 hit from 1990, the ballad ‘The Dance.’

McCreery — being the total, consummate pro that he is — treats the song with utmost respect and delivers it as though he wrote it and has been performing it for eons. He handles ‘The Dance’ beautifully, from how he hits the notes to how he uses his hands and arms expressively while performing.

Dressed in a crisp white shirt, the 18-year-old country crooner introduces the song by sharing some details about his history with Brooks, revealing that he met the singer in Las Vegas after catching one of his shows. Those comments were met with a chorus of cheers from the Opry crowd. He then prefaced the tune by declaring, “It’s a little bit about heartbreak, a little bit about love.”

McCreery really nailed the performance and the essence of the song. His rendition demonstrates why he has become a country superstar and why his ‘American Idol’ Season 10 win is really a mere footnote in his career at this point.

In other Scotty news, the singer is working on holiday songs in the studio. We can’t wait to hear his twangy take on Christmas classics.